Various industries, including the mining and oil and gas industries, make use of large-diameter hoses to carry fluids, for example in applications where rigid pipes would not be suitable. Such hoses, which can have diameters reaching several feet, generally include an inner liner made of a material such as rubber, a reinforcing layer, and an outer covering. The reinforcing layer is typically a fiber such as Kevlar® or polyester wrapped at an angle relative to the axis of the hose. The cover is typically a rubber with good environmental resistance, such as a styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) or neoprene.
The above-mentioned fibers provide strength to the hose against axial and outward radial forces (exerted by pressurized fluid in the hose). However, the resulting hose may be unable to effectively resist bending forces, or inward radial forces, such as those encountered when a vacuum is applied to the hose. The application of bending or vacuum to the hose can therefore cause the hose to kink or collapse. Conventional attempts to compensate for the above weaknesses include installing steel rings or wires around the fibers, sealing the rings or wires with rubber or other materials, and then applying the above-mentioned neoprene cover. Such efforts, however, significantly increase material and labor costs. The above-mentioned steel rings or wires can also result in hoses that are undesirably stiff, due to the significantly higher stiffness of steel relative to the fiber-based materials surrounding the liner.